Recently, a middle-aged housewife committed suicide here. Though it was told that she died due to cardiac arrest, but locals said situation compelled her to kill self as she was unable to repay loan she had borrowed for her self help group.
Her husband was a reputed Hero Honda mechanic and also was getting Rs 10,000 per month as a gym trainer. He lost his earnings due to lockdown. Her son working in a private company through a contractor has lost his job for the lockdown. So the woman preferred to end her life before any humiliation.
One Kuna Sahu who was running his family by selling Bara, Pakudi, Chani and Alluchap, is now seating idle, as nobody is allowed here to carry any business after 2 pm, even though the Chief Secretary changed the curfew period from 9 pm to 5 am. One Bipin Rout who was a street vender of Dahi Bara and Pampadi Chat, is presently vending vegetables to earn bread for his ten-member family.
Many elderly persons those are living from the sole income of house rent are now passing through a difficult period as the tenants of the shops and residential houses are unable to pay their house rents. The teachers working with paltry salaries in private schools are sitting idle at home jobless. Gurus of dance and music schools, those were earning money by teaching students on classical dance and music, are leading now a miserable life, as the dance and music schools are closed. Regretfully, the Department of Culture though has committed to give Rs 10,000 as salary per month to Gurus and Rs 6,000 as stipend to students per month reportedly was not releasing the grant for last three years.
The district Collector of Dhenkanal has told media that out total 79 Covid-19 affected migrants, 56 have returned to their homes after recovery. Rest 23 were getting treatment at Talcher and Dhenkanal Covid Hospitals. The district Collector simultaneously has appealed the people not to be panicky as all are outsiders and there are least chance of mass infection, as they were sent from quarantine centers. If Dhenkanal has no risk of spreading Covid-19, then why the shop keepers and peddlers are not allowed to carry out their business upto 9 pm and obeying the guidelines of using mask and maintaining social distancing, asked many here.
Recently, a bank manager at Baramba, asked to remain in quarantine, came to Dhenkanal violating the guidelines. The Bank Manager who was found Corona positive was residing at the house of his sister in Dhenkanal. He visited a private clinic, a patholab, the Dhenkanal Headquarters Hospital, two medicine stores etc. The district administration though adopted an easy method of sealing the doctor's chamber, patholab and medicine stores, it had not yet taken any stringent action against the Bank Manager who had put many people at grave risk of infection, violating the guidelines.